Book Reviews - Liane Moriarty

In the past few months I have listened to two different books by Liane Moriarty.  She is an Australian author who sets her novels, not surprisingly, in Australia.   I read What Alice Forgot first and discovered I really like her writing style so it was natural to choose The Husband's Secret which I think is actually her most well known.  She has a brand new book out Big Little Lies.  It appears to follow the same basic structure of her other books and looks equally interesting, that might have to be added to my Audible wishlist.   They are both a little difficult to review without revealing too much, the thing that makes her writing so great is watching the story unfold.

Alice Love is twenty-nine years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! she HATES the gym!) and discovers that she's actually thirty-nine, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce.

A knock on the head has misplaced ten years of her life, and Alice isn't sure she likes who she's become. It turns out, though, that forgetting might be the most memorable thing that has ever happened to Alice. (From the publisher.)

I loved this book, I loved the story and that it made me feel and think.  It has been a few months since I finished it and I'm still thinking about it. For as much as I loved it, I have had a hard time blogging about it.  The book is primarily about Alice and I could identify with her in a way that often made me cringe.  But there is a side story about her sister Elizabeth that was just heart wrenching because it was so real. There is such a build up of the characters and their lives throughout the story and I loved the journey, but the ending, oh it was amazing. I was actually on a long run and was able to listen to the last few hours straight through.  A couple of times during the last hour I actually had to stop and just stand still for a few minutes because I was so emotional (yes that means at one point I was leaned over sobbing and just hoping no one would stop to see if I was hurt). It's really the kind of book that is best to go into without any more of a build up.  Just do yourself a favor and read it, then we can chat.

Solid A

At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read: My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died. . . .Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.  (From the publisher)

Who doesn't love a secret?  Of course I was in a hurry to try to discover the secret, and actually guessed it shortly before it was revealed.  The book is told from alternating narrators which really gave it a good personality and I liked the way their lives overlapped and unknowingly affected one another.  There were several parts that made me laugh out loud while I was running and I found myself really torn over how I thought the story would and should end.  The actual ending was a little unsatisfying to me....not a cop out, but there were a few key issues that bothered me.  Again, read the book and then let's chat.

A-